Parents agree they are child’s first and most important teachers, but many say they don’t know how to make the most of this role to give their children the best possible start in school and life. Read more about how love, talk and play are important to your child's development.

Right now, Washington state is home to more than 348,000 children ages 3 and younger. That means there are a lot of parents who could use a little help during these important early years.

The “Love. Talk. Play.” campaign aims to surround parents of children birth to age 3 with simple messages about three key things all parents can and need to be doing with their children every day: love, talk and play.

Shaped by information from national early learning experts, conversations with parents and input from the state’s regional early learning coalitions and state partners, the campaign reaches out to parents with these messages and ways they can take advantage of everyday moments.

This campaign is sponsored by Thrive by Five Washington, the state’s nonprofit public-private partnership for early learning, the state Department of Early Learning and the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, and it is supported by many other statewide and local organizations.